He said he was amazed the woman did not suffer more serious injury: "She was conscious but a bit dazed about what happened. Considering what could have happened, she was let off quite lightly."
In October last year, a 23-year-old avocado orchard worker was engulfed in flames after the cherry picker he was on touched live power lines at Matapihi.
The man was rushed to Tauranga Hospital in a critical condition, suffering burns to 50 per cent of his body. He was later flown to Waikato Hospital then Middlemore Hospital.
Witnesses said the man's clothes appeared to have burned off and he was in a lot of pain.
At yesterday's incident, ambulance staff classified the woman as serious because of potential injuries, such as internal bleeding or broken bones.
She was taken to Tauranga Hospital. She did not want to talk about the accident.
"It was a potentially very serious situation but for some reason she survived it," Mr Waterson said.
A Department of Labour spokeswoman said inspectors were at the scene yesterday afternoon making preliminary inquiries.
"They are having a look at what happened and taking it from there," she said.
Houses in the area are believed to have not been affected by a loss of power from the incident.
Powerco warned fruit pickers to be wary of overhead lines and stay at least 4m away at all times.
Powerco group health and safety manager Fiona Ewing urged orchard and farm workers to assess any electrical hazards on a property before starting work.
"Safety is Powerco's No1 priority and it is of huge concern to us that another hard-working New Zealander has been injured in an electrical accident at work that could have been avoided," Ms Ewing said.
Ms Ewing said Powerco and other lines companies were working with the agricultural sector to improve work processes to reduce the risk of people being injured or killed by contacting overhead lines, and the sector had been very supportive.
It is unclear whether the woman had hired the cherry picker or was working for a company that regularly used the machines.
John Neems from Sign Creations, which hires out cherry pickers, said there were safety guidelines when using a cherry picker.
The Department of Labour's Occupational Safety and Health Service guidelines for the prevention of falls state cherry pickers must not be operated within 4m of power lines and operators must wear harnesses inside the bucket.
Mr Neems said when his company hired out a cherry picker they made sure the operators knew what they were doing by going over standardised safety practices with them.
"Every person that hires it out gets run through the procedures. You let them know if there's power lines you're not allowed to work within 4m. They get run through a list and we make sure they are comfortable [and] they've understood it all," he said.
"Anything up that high, you'd definitely have to have a harness. And if you're working close to a power line you're supposed to let [electric line owners] know. Anything closer than 4m, you run the risk of the electricity arcing on to the cherry picker."
Safety in a cherry picker
Persons in the bucket of a platform on the end of a boom must wear a safety harness with a lanyard attached to the machine. The line should be just long enough to provide free movement within the confines of the bucket.
Always park on level ground.
Keep away from overhead power and telephone wires (4m).
Don't operate under roofs or in enclosed areas.
Don't operate cherry picker on downgrades without hillside restraints or brake kits.
Ensure only suitably trained operators use a cherry picker.
Department of Labour
